NASA Mars mission: Man one step closer to landing on Red Planet with new technology

MAN is one step closer to landing on planet Mars - thanks to a radical development in thrust technology.
Engineers from NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne have revealed a major step forward during a three year, $67m contract to develop the Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS).

Also known as a Hall Thruster, it uses electric and magnetic fields to ionize gases like xenon and expels the ions to produce thrust.

The technique is much cleaner, safer and more fuel efficient than traditional chemical rockets, but the trade off is relatively low thrust and acceleration.

Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president, said: “By staying on the cutting edge of propulsion technology, we have positioned ourselves for a major role not only in getting back to the Moon, but also in any future initiative to send people to Mars.

“AEPS is the vanguard for the next generation of deep space exploration and we're thrilled to be at the mast.”

The core technology – the Hall thruster – is already in use for manoeuvring satellites in orbit around the Earth.

That's enough to adjust the orbit or orientation of a satellite, but it's too little power to move the massive amounts of cargo needed to support human exploration of deep space.

A number of exciting discoveries this year have reinvigorated public interest in planet Mars.

In June, NASA’s Opportunity rover found the first evidence of complex organic compounds beneath the surface of Mars – remains which were potentially left behind by ancient life.

A Hall thruster works by accelerating the plasma exhaust to extremely high speeds.

The Hall thruster is already in use for manoeuvring satellites in orbit around the Earth (Image: NASA)

The process starts with a current of electrons spiralling through a circular channel.

On their whirlwind journey from the negative electrode at the exhaust end to the positively charged electrode on the inner side of the channel, they run into atoms (typically xenon gas) that are fed into the chamber.

The collisions knock electrons off the xenon atoms and turn the xenon into positively charged ions.

The electrons' spiralling motion also builds a powerful electric field that pulls the gas ions out the exhaust end of the channel, creating thrust.

Just enough electrons leave with the ions to keep the spacecraft from accumulating a charge, which could otherwise cause electrical problems.